They say “the exhibition has to happen,” but how true is that when you’re in the middle of a global pandemic?
For cinemas, this is a truth again.
In March, film scenarios around the world were interrupted by the sudden coronavirus attack. The actors on the A-list were sent home while the studios wasted time and money. Earlier this month, a handful of major titles announced his return to work, adding “Mission Impossible 7” and “The Batman”.
Cinemas had also temporarily closed their doors. The rules and regulations of social estrangement prevented others from leaving their homes for non-essential purposes, let alone anything involving gathering in a small interior space.
Now, however, Dubai cinemas have started operating at 30% of their capacity, with mandatory security measures implemented: only a limited number of people are allowed to join, the rows are skipped to serve as a buffer between viewers and non-contact bills. It is recommended, if not mandatory, the purchase of tickets and catering.
In addition, its popular hand sanitizer, EPI and ground decals indicate distances.
To perceive the long-term cinemas in the UAE, we spoke to 3 giant cinemas of other sizes in the UAE: VOX Cinemas, a giant cinema chain that operates around 201 screens in the country, Roxy Cinemas, a boutique cinema that operates 29 screens. and the independent cinema art and rehearsal Cinema Akil, which operates a screen for singles in its exclusive room.
Cameron Mitchell, CEO of Majid Al Futtaim Cinemas, said that in VOX cinemas in the United Arab Emirates, queues have split in two and contactless payment is encouraged in all spaces as a slow return to business is introduced.
“It’s not like starting a business and suddenly a million other people have been covered to check and get back into the race,” Mitchell says.
However, a survey of consumers and consumers after the reopening returned with 93 and 99% approval of the adjustments made, respectively, indicating an appetite for a new cautious cinematic experience.
As cinemas were closed because of the pandemic, the programming gaps are not expected to be significant.
“Everything has been blocked for 3 months. If production stalls and the content continues to air [in theaters], we would have a 3-month gap early next year. We don’t do that,” Mitchell said.
“We release up to seven new movies every week in the Middle East because you have Arabic content, Indian content with other languages, Hollywood content, and standalone content.
“Let’s say we’ve had a 20-week break, which means there are 140 videos on the shelf, waiting for their release in our theaters. Now, some of them have gone straight to the transmission, a small amount. But there is a quantity of content that is subsidized waiting to reach theaters.”
Mitchell adds that theaters in the United States, and especially in Los Angeles and New York, deserve to reopen before Hollywood primary schools release their films, so we see common delays in release dates.
The more screens open, the more tickets can be sold and the higher the revenue.
“They need to see the critical mass of cinemas open in the world to their film … Many Hollywood-based studios need to see this film in their local cinema,” he says.
At Roxy Cinemas, a boutique that delights in 4 places and 29 screens locally, a similar story unfolds.
“The releases of blockbusters worldwide have been suspended, blocking restrictions have been implemented internationally, a lack of profits for film networks. Lately we are experiencing delays and some of the main movie premieres are expected by 2020, which means that movie schedules have changed. However, this is widespread and we expect a wide diversity of film releases in the fourth quarter [fourth quarter] of 2020 and in 2021,” said Victoria Lynn, CEO of Meraas Leisure and Entertainment.
He made them go back to basics.
“It is vital that in times of crisis, cinemas adapt to continue to offer consumers the cinematic delight they enjoy. For example, they noticed a fair reaction by bringing some of the most beloved movie classics back to the big screen.”
Meanwhile, at Cinema Akil, having a single screen has helped reinforce the effect of the pandemic. In addition, its exclusive programming focuses on independent films, presenting its own problems.
“We only have 35 seats, against 133,” says Butheina Kazim, co-founder of Cinema Akil.
The welcome place, covered with film seats and rows of non-traditional sofas, physically removed some seats, while others left out of service. Even after the green light was given to the cinemas to reopen, they waited two weeks to open their doors to ensure that the strictest security measures were implemented.
“In fact, there are wonderful impacts, however, our insistence on continuing the operation of this art and home theater, this network area remains strong and our commitment remains strong with the blockade,” Kazim says.
“We see opportunities in some things. First, the insistence of our audience in coming to the cinema and our collective delight and the type of cinema we offer … the convenience of watching shared cinema. The emphasis on old cinemas, the magic of cinema and not just the use of publicity outings. Those are the things we’re in. Compared to the multiplexes, at the end of the day, what we have is a strong connection with our audience, a strong connection to the network and the trust that we will stay together.
“That said, this makes it a commercially complicated proposition: we’re a single-screen cinema, so 70% is a hit.”
At Cinema Akil, “all our lineup that we had removed by 2020 has absolutely changed, we had planned the Venice Film Festival program for April, we had the week of the film in Sudan, we had several scheduled releases of recent releases, interactions with film festivals adding [Cannes], which is the ultimate for us. This has created a huge hole in the way we think about programming,” Kazim says.
In the United Arab Emirates, cinemas depend on citizens who do not travel during the summer months and use cinematic fun to escape the heat and enjoy relatively affordable entertainment. Cinema Akil goes even further.
“We have developed a theme, Cinema Akil: Voyageur, which necessarily adds to the concept of traveling on the big screen, rather than summer trips, getting on an airplane, allowing this kind of respect and expiration and preference for travel. We need to be there for the public to make sure that we are not only a physical space, but also emotional … to keep people’s spirits … Our program begins with the matrix “Travel to Italy”. It is one of the toughest successes countries at the beginning of the pandemic. We try to pay three times for that,” Kazim says.
In the future, can Mitchell, Lynn and Kazim take a look at a time when cinemas have returned to normal?
“I plan for the long term and I think we’ll go back to a point where a cinema can be 100 percent complete and you can reserve any position you need. I think that’s going to happen. When that happens, you will have how temporarily, all countries recover … However, we would still have stepped forward with the cleaning measures,” Mitchell says.
Lynn is optimistic about the future.
“In front of COVID-19, many film releases have been suspended around the world. As industries begin to return to the general and crisis, the city’s moviegoers can expect much of them to be waiting for movie premieres on a Roxy close screen for them,” he says.
Meanwhile, Kazim looks outside.
“One thing I will say, in general, we rely only on the sponsorship of our network to keep the cinema alive because, at the end of the day, that will be what will decide how we will survive.”
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